Islam Makhachev has more than a few contenders vying for a shot at his undisputed crown. The list includes Arman Tsarukyan, who’s ranked #1 and was scheduled to challenge the Dagestani at UFC 311. However, the Armenian was forced to pull out at the last moment, and owing to this, Tsarukyan will be looking to inch closer to the gold in the near future. This is followed by Charles Oliveira who is looking for his long-awaited and originally scheduled UFC 294 title rematch. Moreover, we now have a resurging Justin Gaethje who put on a clinic at UFC 313 and made his intentions pretty clear. In fact, the Dagestani camp is also in favor of facing ‘The Highlight’ with head coach Javier Mendez giving his nod.

However, rising star Paddy Pimblett seems to believe that he can inject himself into the title picture! And this to the lightweight title starts with his UFC 314 fight against Michael Chandler. This is not an overstatement! Just consider the step in competition for the #12-ranked 155fer as he faces a juggernaut who has never faced anyone out of the top 10 in his UFC run so far. Although the former Bellator champ hasn’t had the best track record in the UFC, ‘Iron’ Mike always brings the fight to his opponents. This means that defeating him will surely help ‘The Baddy’ break into the upper echelon of the rankings.

But Paddy Pimblett revealed that he’s got more to gain from a win over Michael Chandler. But only if he can finish the former 3-time Bellator champion! The Englishman envisions being in a spot where he could be fighting the aforementioned three possible title contenders after beating the 38-year-old, and a win over either Tsarukyan, Oliveira, or Gaethje would compel Dana White to hand him a title shot.

“I think once I finish Michael Chandler, I’m only gonna need one more fight. [I’m] thinking like an Arman [Tsarukyan], a Charles [Oliveira], a [Justin] Gaethje… Someone like that. Fight a top five and then I’ll be able to demand a title shot in 2026,” Paddy Pimblett stated during a recent interview with ‘UFC op Eurosport’.

Given that Pimblett mostly excels on the ground, there’s a sentiment among fans that he’s going to stick to his old game plan against Michael Chandler, which the Liverpudlian has denied. He has been putting in the work on his striking and claimed that it is on a whole new level than before, as he plans to decapitate the powerful Chandler to shut his doubters up. Pimblett has even claimed to have more than one striking move in his arsenal to shut down the veteran lightweight.

“Me striking’s had a very big improvement, and I’ll be showing everyone that come fight night against Michael Chandler. A lot of people think I’m just gonna try and grapple him, but I’m not! I’m gonna boot him all over the cage, and I’m gonna jab his head off,” Paddy Pimblett added. “I think I can knock him out. Head kicks, knees, elbows, even punches, or rock him, and then end up submitting him from there. I don’t see the fight going five rounds. There’s no way he finishes me, but there’s several ways I finish him.”

Well, Paddy Pimblett may be a bit too confident because Michael Chandler recently claimed that the English star has a big chip on his shoulder heading into UFC 314. But how? Well, Chandler claims the pressure’s not on him, but on Pimblett. Here’s what he had to say!

Michael Chandler claims Paddy Pimblett will have a lot of pressure at UFC 314

Paddy Pimblett may be undefeated in the UFC, but not all of his performances have been convincing enough for the fans to believe that he’s got the ‘it’ factor. His fight against Jared Gordon at UFC 282 where he secured a controversial decision win, is one of those instances when fans didn’t think his performance was enough to get him the win. As we’ve mentioned already, UFC 314 is a step up in competition, and on that note, Michael Chandler claimed that people aren’t focused on him as much as they’ll be focused on how Pimblett performs this weekend.

“I’m not saying Paddy isn’t a top guy or isn’t a scary guy. He hasn’t proven that yet, and I believe my skill set is enough not just to beat him but to dominate him,” Michael Chandler told Teddy Atlas in a recent ESPN interview. “There’s less of a question on ‘Is Michael Chandler still the guy that we all think he is?’ and more of a question is of where does Paddy Pimblett fit into all this. I think I will emphatically show people the answer to that question on April 12.”

Well, both fighters seem confident about their chances of getting the better of each other at UFC 314. But who do you have winning, the charismatic Scouser or the self-proclaimed most entertaining lightweight on the planet? Drop your comments below.